Actuating and locking mechanism for merchandise drums in automatic vending machines



Sept. 26, 1961 E. WlTTE DRUMS IN AUTOMATIC Filed May 3 ACTUATING AND LOCKING MECHANISM FOR MERCHANDISE VENDING MACHINES 19, 1960 NBORG 01,411

CONTROL TELLER 0 flVW 1 1500261006 United rates The object of the present invention is to adapt the actuating and locking mechanism for locking pins supatent porting merchandise drums in automatic vending machines in such manner that the drum only requires to be fitted with a single rim of locking pins or similar projections with a single pin for each merchandise room in the drum.

In accordance with the invention the locking member of the mechanism is designed as a fork which during its engagement with a locking pin is prevented by the latter from closing an electric circuit through the driving motor of the drum, the said fork being carried by a movable arm which by means of electric pulses from the slot mechanism of the machine withdraws the fork from the path of the locking pins for a brief interval. The cooperation between the said fork and the locking pins of the drum determines thus not. only the time of releasing the drum and the time of its subsequent stopping and looking, but also the time for starting and stopping the driving motor of the drum. These different functions areobtained thereby that the fork is capable of making twofkinds of movements, that is, partly together with the movable arm, partly in relation to the said arm under the influence of a locking pin.

The said movements can be brought about in a very simple manner thereby that the fork in accordance with the invention is displaceable on the arm and that the said arm is pivotable about an axis disposed in such manner that when turned the fork is withdrawn from or passed into the path of the locking pin.

Automatic vending machines with the goods placed in rotatable drums have usually a large number of drums disposed with a joint axis of rotation. Since these machines arealways adapted in such manner that it is only possible to take the merchandise froma single drum at a time, the drums have often a driving motor in common, which can then by means of couplings for each individual drum move the desired drum.

In adapting the mechanism to such machines the fork may in accordance with the invention be caused to cooperate with a switch provided in an electric circuit through an electromagnet the armature of which through a springactivated lever controls partly a coupling inserted between motor and advancing roller, partly a switch inserted in the electric circuit of the motor.

A very simple and effective embodiment ofthe fork is obtained in accordance with the invention by providing the front prong of the fork with an outer oblique surface which permits the fork to trip on a locking pin whereas ,the rear prong of the fork is made'longer than the front prong and with an inside surface formed in such a way as to catch the locking pin and, after the latter having carried the fork with it a certain distance, retains the said pin. The prongs of the fork may thus be rigid in relation to each other and furthermore of simple design.

The arm carrying the fork may be released for turning the slot mechanism of the machine when a proper coin has been put into its slot, but it will be simpler and operationally more safe to produce the said turning-movement by means of electric pulses from the slot mechanism. According to the invention this can be accomplished thereby that the arm is provided with an extension projecting rearwards and which through a link bar is connected ice with the armature of an electromagnet activated by electric pulses from the slot mechanism. In vending machines having several merchandise drums the joint slot mechanism has to be supplemented by a push-button selector mechanism with a button adjacent to each drum so that the electric pulses are only produced when pressing a button and then in such manner that the pulses are transmitted solely to the electromagnet that is disposed in the actuating and locking mechanism of the drum involved.

In order to facilitate mounting, replacement or removal of the mechanism, for example, if the drum is to be moved to another place, the arm, the switches, the electromagnets and the lever corresponding to the mechanism involved may in accordance with the invention be mounted on one common frame supporting the advancing roller for attachment at its appropriate place in the frame of the vending machine opposite the place of the drum. The electric wires leading to the individual mechanism may be assembled in a plug which is inserted in the nearest one of a number of permanently mounted sockets arranged in a row along the merchandise rooms in the frame of the vending-machine, the said sockets being connected to electric circuits through the common driving motor and to the slot mechanism.

The drawing shows an actuating and locking mechanism designed in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 1 is an oblique top view of a mechanism for use in an automatic vending machine with a single merchandise drum.

'FIGURE'Z is the wiring diagram of same.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a mechanism for use in vending machines having several merchandise drums with common driving motor, and

FIGURE 4 such parts of the wiring diagram as are necessary for understanding the operation of a vending machine as described with three merchandise drums.

In FIGURE 1 a small part of the bottom of the merchandise drum is denoted by 1. On its underside it carries a circular driving path 2 which rests on an advancing roller 3.

During the periods of advance the roller 3 is driven through a shaft 6 by an electromotor 7 and during the periods of standstill one of the locking pins 4 is retained in a fork 8.

-When a coin 9 is inserted in the slot mechanism of the vending machine an electric circuit is closed through a storage battery 10 and an electromagnet 11 the armature 12 of which is attracted. As a consequence the forks is disengaged from the pin 5, the fork being pivvotally mounted on a pivot 13 provided on an arm 15 which is displaceable in a guiding block 14 and connected at its rear end through a pin 16 with the armature 12. At the saidoperation a tensile spring 17 between the guide block 14 and the arm .15 is tensioned. As soon as the fork 8 has been passed out of the path of the pin 5 a Weak tension spring 17 will turn a side arm 18 of the fork against a contact spring 19 which through a contact spring 19 which through a contact peice 2t} closes an electric circuit through the storage battery It and the electromotor 7. The roller 3 now advances the drum 1 in the direction of an arrow 21 until the pin 4- has reached the fork 8.

The electromagnet 11 retained only its armature 12 for the brief interval in which the coin 9 was passing through the .slotmechanism. The arm 15 has therefore already long .agobeenreturned by the spring 17 to the position indicated in FIGURE 1, but the side arm 18 of the fork 8 is 'still being forced against the contact piece 20 by the-spring =17so that the motor is still supplied with current. The spin 4, at first strikes an oblique surface 22 of the front prong *23 of the fork and slides into the fork where the pin is retained by the rear prong 24 of the fork which is longer than the front prong 23. When the pin is intercepted by the prong. 24, the fork is turned about the pivot 13 and the side arm r18 is released by the contact spring 19 whereby the current to the-electromotor 7 is cut off and the roller 3rsto'ps. The drum 1 will remain in this position until the next coin is inserted into the slot.

The drum is in known manner divided into sectorshaped rooms containing merchandise, the said rooms being of a width actually corresponding to the distance between two pins 4 and 5.

In the mechanism shown in FIGURE 3 the fork 8 is displaceable on the arm 15 and the latter is itself pivotally mounted on a pivot 25.

' Furthermore, the advancing roller may through a claw coupling 26, which is guided by means of a coupling arm 27, be coupled to a chain wheel 28. The said chain wheel 28 is together with corresponding chain wheels on other mechanisms driven by a common chain leading to a chain Wheel (not shown) provided on the shaft of an electromotor. The said motor is denoted by 29 in FIGURE 4.

Whereas the motor has to work whenever one of the merchandise drums is to be turned by an angle corresponding to the width of its merchandise room, that is, the angle between the pins 4 and 5, it is only the advancing roller 3 for the drum involved that is to start. In view of this the mechanism shown in FIGURE 3 incorporates still an electromagnet 30 with armature 31, just as there is provided a push-button (not shown) adjacent to each merchandise drum. The said push-button operates a switch 32, see FIGURE 4.

The mechanism shown in FIGURE 3 is in its inoperative position. V

When a coin is inserted into the slot mechanism (not shown) of the vending machine, the counter wheel of the said mechanism will perform a corresponding partial revolution, provided all the parts of the machine are in their inoperative position, which, again, means that all the switches are in the position shown in FIGURE 4. The said inoperative condition is checked by means of a known test showing whether a wire 33 introduced into the slot mechanism is in conductive connection with the live cable 34 of the vending machine. When, for example, the number of coins corresponding to the price of the goods in the intermediate merchandise drum have been inserted into the slot, the counter wheel connects the right-hand side (see FIGURE 4) of the coil 11 of the corresponding mechanism with the neutral wire of the machine through a wire 35. When the purchaser subsequently presses the push-button mounted adjacent to the merchandise drum, thereby closing the contact point 32,

the electromagnet 11 is fed with current, whereby the drum is released.

This operation takes place as follows:

The armature 12 of the electromagnet 11 is attracted,

pling. During this operation of the armature 31 a changeover arm 52 which has been kept in a raised position by the armature as shown in FIGURE 3 is released, and as long as also the change-over arm 49 is kept in its changeover position, the first-mentioned change-over arm will close an electric circuit through the motor 29 of the mav chine (see FIGURE 4), whereby the roller 3 of the merchandise drum involved will commence advancing the drum.

When during the advancement of the drum the pin 4 has moved in the direction of the arrows 53, it strikes against the oblique surfaces 22 of the front fork prong 23 and slides into thefork 8, the pin being caught by the rear, long prong 24 of the fork. The arms 15 and 37 and the link 36 have, in fact, already long ago been released by the electromagnet 11 and have returned to the position indicated in FIGURE 3 owing to the action exerted by the spring 41. The rear end 48 of the fork is, however, still pressing on the change-over arm 49. Actually, the purchaser cannot keep the electromagnet 11 energized for any longer interval by continuing his pressure on the push-button operating the switch '32, for as soon as the change-over arm 49 a few moments after the change-over arm 32 having activated the electromagnet 11 energizes the electromagnet 39,, it interrupts simultaneously the connection between the change-over arm 32 and the positive wire 34 of the vending machine, whereby the electromagnet 1.1 is de-energized.

, In consequence of the action exerted by the advancing roller 3 on the drum the pin 4, striking the prong 24, will carry the fork 8 with it for still a short distance. against the action of the spring 46. As a result, the changeover arm 49, which de-energizes the motor 29 and the electromagnet 30, is released, after which also the arm 52 returns to the position indicated in FIGURE 4 andthe advancing roller 3 is disengaged from the chain wheel 28. A wire 54 connects one terminal of the motor 29 with the slot mechanism in which the counter wheel slides back to its neutral position when the wire 54 is fed with current.

It will be appreciated that the mechanism in acc'ordance with the invention produces and controls any movements performed by the drum, and it will be further appreciated that the mechanism only cooperates with the drum at two points, that is, at the advancing roller 3 and at the fork 8. This aifords the possibility'oi a hitherto unknown arrangement of drums revolved about a vertical axis, since each drum can be arranged resting solely on three supporting rollers uniformly distributed across the diameter of the drum, one of the said supporting rollers being the advancing roller 3, whereas the remaining two may be idle rollers. The drums of the 1 vending machine need therefore not be replenished thereby drawing through a link 36 a side arm 37 of the arm 15 in the direction of an arrow 38, overcoming the action of a tension spring 41 which is attached between the arm and a fixed plate 39 provided on the frame 40 of the mechanism. The fork 8 which is slidable longitudinally by means of a slit 42 embracing two pins 43 and 44 provided on the arm '15 is thereby passed clear of the pin 5 and is subsequently directly displaced in its longitudinal direction along the arm 15 as a tension spring 46 attached between the .pin 43 and a pin 45 provided on the fork 8 displaces the fork in the direction of an arrow 47, whereby the rear end of the fork presses against a changeover arm 49 which is changed from the position indicated in FIGURE 4 so as now to energize the electromagnet 30 which will therefore at once attract its armature 31. Overcoming the action of a spring 51 the said armature 31 turns the coupling arm 27 which is pivotable about a pivot 59 provided on the frame '40 so as to establish conwhile permanently arranged in the machine, but may be withdrawn directly through the one wall part of the machine opened, and be filled outside the machine before being replaced on the three rollers. When the vending machine is supplied with current, the advancing roller will at once advance the drum causing it to engage a locking pin provided in the fork 8, and the drum is ready to vend.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Actuating and locking mechanism for electric motor driven merchandise drums in automatic vending machines having coin slot control comprising, locking pins on the drums, a forked locking member for engagement with the locking pins, and a movable aim carrying the forked locking member, the mechanism characterised in that the forked locking member during its engagement with a locking pin is prevented from closing an electrical circuit through the driving motor of the drum, and the movable arm withdraws the forked locking member from the path of the locking pins for a brief interval by means of electric pulses from the coin slot control.-

2. Actuating and locking mechanism as claimedin claim 1, characterised in that the forked locking member is displaceable on the arm which is pivotable about an axis disposed in such manner that when turned the forked locking member is withdrawn from or passed into the path of the locking pins.

3. Actuating and locking mechanism as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the forked locking pin cooperates with a switch in an electric circuit through an electromagnet the armature of which through a springactivated lever controls partly a coupling inserted between motor and advancing roller, partly a switch inserted in the electric circuit of the motor.

4. Actuating and locking mechanism as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the arm, the switches, the electromagnets and the lever are mounted on one common frame supporting an advancing roller for attachment in appropriate place on the vending machine opposite the drum.

5. Actuating and locking mechanism as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the front prong of the forked locking member has an outside oblique surface which permits the forked locking member to trip on a locking pin, the rear prong of the forked locking member being longer than the front prong and having an inside surface of such form that it will catch the locking pin and, after the latter having carried the forked locking member with it a certain distance, retains the locking pm.

6. Actuating and locking mechanism as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the arm carrying the forked locking member has an extension projecting rearwards, the said extension being connected by means of a link bar with the armature of an electromagnet activated by electric pulses from the coin slot control.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Solinski Nov. 19, 1940* Logan et a1. Feb. 2, 1960 

